This was a great week at our house! Tuesday was Daddy's birthday. Mommy and I made brownies for Daddy and sang happy birthday to him at lunchtime since Mommy had to teach that night. I gave him my present, which was something I knew he'd like because he likes to play with me. I got him a Phlat ball! I didn't really like the gift Mommy got for him. She got him socks.

Thursday was fun because I went over to my friend Noah's house after school. I ate lunch there and we played a lot. We even got to go outside and pound real nails into a log with real hammers!

Saturday I got a new magazine in the mail. It's called Your Big Backyard. I read the joke on the back to Mommy. There was a picture of a squirrel and it said, "Do you love to climb and play? I sure do. I get squirrelly if I don't get my exercise!" Mommy didn't believe that Daddy didn't read it to me first. She had to ask him. But I really did read it all by myself!

For lunch on Saturday, Uncle Joe, Aunt Kathy, Uncle Michael and I all went out for lunch to Space Aliens. It was Joe and Kathy's gift to Michael and me for being good ring bearers at their wedding along with the smooshed pennies and Pearl Harbor airplanes they got us in Hawaii. I came home with a ton of prizes. Mommy made sure to tell me that if I ever get to go to Space Aliens again, it will NOT be like that. Not many people have Uncle Joe's token collection. Thanks, Joe and Kathy!!!

Cool tricks with sticky syrup!

Today I had a nice lazy day. I even took a nap, which I almost never do anymore. I played some computer games and a game of Trouble with Mommy. Then Mommy and I made some pancakes for dinner. We like making breakfast for dinner. My favorite part of pancakes is the syrup. It's really sticky - as you can see in the pictures.

I've been very busy exploring the last few days. Mommy removed all the blocks from around the living room since I was getting through them anyway, so I've had free reign to explore everything. I right away discovered the cabinets and some fun bowls to bang together. Then Saturday I discovered the stairs! They are very fun to climb. On Sunday, Mommy gave Daddy a list of baby proofing items to complete.

Another big accomplishment for me lately is talking. When we read animal sound books, I like to say "boo" for "moo." And yesterday when I was up in my room, I heard Belle bark and said, "Ba." I have also been doing more signing. Here's a list of my signs so far: ball, more, drink, and fish. You may also count waving bye-bye, shaking my head no, and clapping. I figured out the best way to get a good sounding clap is to slap my arm.

I really enjoy music. I like to dance to the music and play music. Some of my favorite instruments are the drum, tambourine, xylophone, and the piano. Basically anything I can bang on is fun for me!

I'm learning lots of fun tricks these days. I've started playing "So Big," especially when I'm getting my diaper changed. Mommy likes that because it keeps my hands out of my dirty diaper and it's much better than the alligator roll. That, like a lot of my new tricks, are ones that Mommy doesn't like. Like jumping in my crib when I'm supposed to be going to sleep. Life is just too much fun for sleep. Daddy is best at snuggling me and getting me to go down. As William would say, "I like his feel." I do think it's fun to pretend to go to sleep, though. I lay down my head on a pillow or blanket and everyone says, "Night, night, Eliana." Then I smile and "wake up!" My other funny trick is to not eat my baby food. I decided the other day while we were in the baby food aisle at the store and I was watching Mommy pick out a bunch of new kinds for me to try. Ever since then, I refuse to eat off the spoon. Grandma Lanz gave Mommy a good idea of trying to sneak in bites while I'm chasing a cheerio around my tray or when I drop the pea that I was going to put in my mouth. Then I'm willing to take a few bites off the spoon. But even if it takes all day, I would much rather feed myself. Just like I took my pants off by myself the other day. I thought that was a great trick! Check out the latest pictures for more of my silliness. I'm always smiling and laughing about some crazy new adventure.

I turned 9 months old on Tuesday! The next big milestone will be my first birthday, can you believe it?!?! But first I get to experience my first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas (not to mention Cookie Day)! It's going to be an exciting three months!

Today I got to visit my doctor again. I was up to 16 lbs 7 oz, which was the 11th percentile. I measured 26 inches, the 7th percentile, but Mommy thinks the nurse shorted me some. We were so sure I was going to shoot up more on the charts since I had a recent growth spurt, but I guess it was just typical growth because I'm still at the bottom of the ranks. That's okay. I like being a peanut.

My family has been trying to teach me some sign language. I have only waved bye-bye a couple times. So Mommy was really surprised last night when she and William were throwing balls back and forth and I kept signing "ball!" It took her a while to figure out why I kept waving my arm. But when she finally realized, she was really excited for me!

Mommy and I just had a long conversation about what to be for Halloween. I want to be a grey wolf and Eliana to be a grey wolf pup and Daddy to be a loon and Mommy to be a loon chick. But Mommy said Eliana already has a pumpkin costume, so we can dress up one of my stuffed animals as a wolf pup instead. And Mommy wanted to be a witch because she has a witches hat, but I am too scared of witches, so that wasn't okay with me. Mommy suggested a farmer to go with the pumpkin. But I said that wasn't scary enough. She has to be something scary that I'm not afraid of. She was wondering what that could possibly be. I suggested a big dog with big teeth. Then she suggested a bat. I thought that sounded like a great idea! So she asked if she could be a bat who wears a witches hat. But I said, "No!" Then I played a word game that I often like to play. "If you were bat who wore a witch's hat, do you know what you'd be?" Mommy said, "No, what?" "A bitch!" I like making funny sounding words!

I've been going to school three days a week for two weeks now. The last time Mommy picked me up I told her I have a new friend. My friend Noah is in my class all of three days. We are both shy and quiet so it took us a while to make friends. On Wednesday after our moms came back from talking (Wednesdays I go to Janie's class with Mommy or Daddy) Noah and I were hiding under the easel together. It was really funny to see our moms looking around for us. Then yesterday in Sandy's class, where I get dropped off, Noah and I sat by each other in circle.

William's watercolor painting

I have really been enjoying school. The excavator and the "pusher" are some of my favorite toys at school. I also like the kid-sized couches. Yesterday my teacher Sandy was a little concerned about me because I spent a long time laying on the couch listening to music on headphones. Mommy wasn't a bit surprised and reassured her that it was just something I like to do. It's sure nice of Sandy to notice, though. She's a really great teacher. I also love Janie and am glad that I get to have her for a teacher again, too.

Eliana knocked the house down while trying to climb out the window

I've been really busy lately exploring everything I can get my hands on. I learned how to crawl out the windows of the playhouse, which is pretty funny. There's no more trapping me in the living room. Another fun game is to jump on my bed. I like to stand up, hold onto the crib railing and bounce. Right now I'm bopping to William's rockin' music while I sit in the living room. I also learned another new trick - shaking my head. It makes Mommy say, "No, no, no." It sure is funny!

I'm becoming a lot more mobile very quickly. It's a whole new world now that I can get around. I've mastered crawling and have moved on to cruising. I enjoy standing up next to tables, chairs or my exersaucer and playing. I can even sit myself back down, but sometimes when I'm tired I don't feel up to braving it. I am a much happier baby now that I can get around and explore. I was starting to feel a little trapped for a while there. Now I wear myself out playing happily all day. Mostly my parents trap me in the living room with barricades (the playhouse, toy boxes, furniture and my exersaucer) and so far that keeps me in a safe area. If anyone ever moves one of the blocks, I notice right away and am out the opening to explore new territory. The other night I crawled under the end table and hid behind the couch. It was funny to hear everyone looking around saying, "Where did Eliana go?" I was happily playing with Belle's toys, which are much more fun than my toys. Well, I'm off to go chew on the coffee table. Maybe I'll have a third tooth by the next blog entry.

We've had quite a month so far! Starting with getting a new roof and my getting a new job, that shook up our life. And just when the roof was finished and we were getting used to the relative silence at our house again, another work crew started on our siding and the banging started up again. It was a rather long process since the crew consisted of two guys, but the end result was worth it. We really love the new color. It looks like it was always meant to be this color. I posted a picture so you'll recognize our house next time you come over :) We weren't sure if we were going to need to repaint the front door after the new siding was up, but Darren and I agree that we both still really like the blue door. We're glad, since we have been much busier lately and would rather not spend time painting.

We LOVE our new house color! It looks like it was meant to be. The new shingles look great, too!

First we had a fun weekend that resulted in a new aunt/sister-in-law added to the family, as you saw in William's blog. Then I started teaching Monday and Tuesday nights and William started school Tuesday thru Thursday mornings. If you ever want to come hang out with Ellie for a couple hours on a Wednesday morning, let me know and I'll pencil you in on the calendar. That's the day of William's parent-child class and we would like to have someone hang out with Eliana so Darren can get some work done. We've been cycling through a lot of helpers with all workshop and orientation days this month. Thank you to Grandma Barb, Grandpa Ron, Grandma Lanz, Great-aunt Pam, neighbors Jessie and Hannah, and our great babysitter, Cousin Ivy. Now we've had enough excitement. It will be so nice to settle into our new fall routine! Oh, and I almost forgot one other change! We're doing dishes by hand these days. It's not so bad, especially when the dishwasher was junk to begin with. We may put in more cabinets rather than a new dishwasher ;) But seriously, we need to wait for some checks from homeowners insurance and ING adoption assistance before we can think about another big purchase.

The flower girl and ringbearer

I'm done getting new aunts and uncles for a while now. Uncle Joe married Aunt Kathy this weekend. I got to be the ring bearer and Eliana was the honorary flower girl. She slept through the ceremony, so it was a good thing it was an honorary position. The whole weekend was a lot of fun. From playing with Wall-e in the church at rehearsal to swiming at the hotel, the whole weekend was jam packed with fun!

Mommy and I went by ourselves to the rehearsal because Ellie had a cough. I brought Wall-e so Joe could see how he works, since he gave him to me for my birthday. But Joe was a little busy, so mostly Michael played with him while we waited for the rehearsal to start. Then we practiced the whole wedding. Afterward we went out to dinner at Major's. Michael and I were hungry so we helped ourselves to the veggie tray. Then they brought out some yummy pasta. Mommy and I didn't stay too long because we had to get home to bed. Mommy said it was a good thing we decided to sleep at home because Eliana slept through the night and we all got a good night's sleep before the big day!

The lovely bride getting ready

Saturday was wedding day. It started out with a drive to the cities stopping to pick up my tux. Then we had to change clothes and get pictures taken. It was hard to stand still, look, and smile for the camera - way harder than walking while carrying a pillow! After pictures we went downstairs for some cheese and crackers and wedding pop (which tastes just like trivia pop). When everyone was finally in their seats, it was showtime! Michael and I walked right up to the front of the church and stopped. Then someone reminded us to bow, so we did. Then Grandpa whispered to us to come sit down, so we did! Everyone said we did a very good job. Mommy did a good job walking with Uncle Tommy and doing the reading, too. And Joe and Kathy said all the right stuff and they got married! Grandpa Lanz sang a beautiful song with Kathy's dad on guitar while Joe and Kathy lit the unity candle. The whole thing was pretty special. There was only one little moment of confusion, when the priest prayed for Grandpa Larry... no one remembers a Larry. Soon it was time to walk back down the aisle. With a little shove to get us out of the pew, Michael and I found our way back to the basement all by ourselves!

Whoa! Look at those fish.

After a few more pictures, it was time to go check into the hotel. Daddy, Eliana and I hung out in the room for a while, watched some cartoons and had some down time before the reception at the MN zoo. Dinner was going to be late, so we walked next door to the Dairy Queen and had some ice cream and french fries to tide us over until dinner. Mommy had gone ahead to the zoo with Cory, Joe and Kathy to get some pictures taken. And boy, did they take pictures! Mommy said that arriving with the bride and groom was like arriving to the paparazzi. When we got there, she met us and we walked around the Tropics Trail. Then Daddy and I went off down the dark MN trail while Mommy and Ellie visited with relatives. I had to finish the trail with Pam and Russ because Daddy had to run get food from the car for Ellie. That was an adventure. Russ took the whole group of little boys in the men's room by himself. He was brave! But it went well and I got all washed up for dinner. I got my own special dinner of chicken strips and fruit while the grownups had stuffed chicken and vegetables. There was also an option of pasta for Kathy and other vegetarians. I liked the swedish fish party favors at the tables. I ate several people's. The cake was good, too - especially the chocolate!

Look at those moves!

Then it was time for the dance! Daddy took Eliana back to the hotel to put her to bed, even though she was having a great time dancing with Ivy. She would've been happy to stay and party because she's a real party girl. But she fell right to sleep in her carseat, so she was tired! Mommy asked if I wanted to go or stay and dance. I said I wanted to stay and watch her dance, which was mostly what I did. I danced a little in the beginning before there were too many people on the dance floor. But then the DJ did all sorts of fun dances like the Chicken Dance, Electric Slide and YMCA and I got a little overwhelmed. Lots of people started dancing and I didn't know any of the moves. So then I just watched for a long time (except for the one time Mommy bribed me to do the dollar dance with Aunt Kathy) until the DJ said "last call." I realized it was my last chance to dance. He started playing some cool "guy" music that the big guys were all dancing to. So I got into my "safe box," the rectangle at the edge of the dance floor that was mostly empty of people, and started to pull out my cool dance moves. Before long it was midnight and the bus was leaving for the hotel. The music stopped and we went back to our room. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Gift opening - no home is complete without gnomes

Morning came quickly. We got up and out to the lobby for breakfast by 10:00. We wore our swimsuits so we could go right to the pool. The whole family went swimming in the nice, warm pool. Eliana liked it a lot. It was a short swim, though, because we had to go get packed up. The gift opening was at Kathy's parents' house at noon. I didn't see them open any gifts, though, because I was busy playing pool with Michael. I've only seen the pictures.

On our way home we stopped to drop off my tux and visit Ellie's birth family in Maple Grove. Eliana got to show off her other new tooth - she has two now! And she showed how well she can crawl and stand up next to stuff. We almost left without me getting any magic tricks, but as we were walking out the door I remembered to ask Grandpa Skip to do magic with my smooshed penny that I got at the zoo. He made it go right through Dani's head! I said, "Wow."

Then we were off to Grandpa Ron and Grandma Barb's house to get Belle. She had slept overnight with them while we were gone. We got there kind of late because of all the traffic. It was nice of them to hold dinner for us. But unfortunately there wasn't a lot of time to stay and visit. We had to get home to bed! It was a long weekend.

We were woken up this morning to more banging. The workers have been putting up our new siding on our house. Hopefully tomorrow is the last day. The new color is green, my favorite. We escaped the banging for a while and went to the new library! Mommy and I brought Ellie this time. We didn't get to take any pictures, but it was pretty cool. I liked the new bookshelves. I could see all the covers of the books and CDs. I instantly found a couple CDs I wanted and then a bunch of books right in the Bs. It wasn't long before Mommy said that was enough books and we went to see the toy area. It was smaller, but very nice. My favorite toys were still there. We also looked in the bathrooms. They were big and had little toilets for kids. There was even a nursing room for mommies with babies. I really wanted to go up all those granite stairs, so we walked around upstairs a little. Everything was very light because of all the tall windows Mommy said not to put fingerprints on. The only bad thing about the new library was all the waiting. Hopefully it will get better. But there was a line at the book drop because it's an automatic conveyor that you're supposed to put the books on one at a time. Good thing we didn't bring ALL our books back today! And then there was a line to check out. They librarians have to demagnetize every book now and they don't have a much desk space, so it's tricky for them. Hopefully the wrinkles will get worked out and things will go more quickly soon because Mommy tends to get impatient and crabby when we have to wait in line.

Bye-bye!

Tonight Grandma Barb came over for a little bit because Mommy taught her first class. She said it went well. It's going to be different having Mommy working now. I'm sure we'll all get used to it.

Tomorrow I have my first day of school, too. So I'll have lots of good school stories to come. But that was my busy weekend, plus a day. I hope you enjoyed it half as much as I did!